Pok¿mon Times Vol. 12

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See video footage of what happens when Bulbasaur cooks curry. Er, yeah...

By IGN Staff

Last week I told you that the US name of Pikachu Genki Dechu (Pikachu VRS) wasn't final and to expect a new name soon -- well, turns out the announcement came sooner than everyone expected. Pikachu VRS is now officially called Hey You, Pikachu! and set for a holiday 2000 release.

If you haven't read the previous installments of Pokémon Times (and you want to read up on Pokémon Stadium or Pikachu VRS), here are the links. Pokémon Times Vol. 1 through 8 deal with Pokémon Stadium. After that, it's all Pikachu.

In case you're looking for help on beating Pokémon Stadium, be sure to check out our in-depth strategy guide on IGNguides.

Hey You, Pikachu!

Day 2

You must have made quite an impression on Pikachu the other day. In today's encounter with the electric mouse Pokémon, you don't need to head out into the forest to look for it. Pikachu actually appears in front of your bedroom window early in the morning and wakes you with a loud "Pikaaaaachu!"

This is also the first time that your mom gets sees Pikachu. In a short blurb of text, she remarks that Pikachu is "cute". It's a Nintendo game we're talking about, so there is of course a reason for this seemingly superfluous remark. The word "cute" is highlighted in red, which tells you that it's part of the game's vocabulary. Throughout the game, you will get plenty of clues from other characters you speak with as to which words Pikachu actually understands. But there's not time for sweet talk right now. Pikachu is asking you to follow it into the woods...

In a small burrow in the woods, you meet a familiar Pokémon: Bulbasaur. Called Fushigidane in Japan, Bulbasaur is planning to cook a special type of "Curry" for its Pokémon friends. But it doesn't seem to have enough of some of the ingredients... Using a piece of paper and a crayon, Pikachu draws pictures of three different ingredients Bulbasaur holds up (just in case), then heads deeper into the forest to pass time till dinner.

Turns out there are all kinds of vegetables growing in the forest. You'll see plenty of mushrooms, take no ko (bamboo sprouts), carrots, onions, cabbage, and so on. You have limited control over your character at this time. You can move into any direction, but the camera will stay focused on Pikachu at all times (this control scheme is a bit confusing, but you get used to it). Pikachu will do its own thing and look at stuff, but it will actually follow you around if you call it.

Here's the deal: if Pikachu sees a veggie, it will pick it up and show it to you. If it's something that wasn't on Bulbasaur's dinner plan, you should tell Pikachu to get rid of it. Pikachu will look a little sad, but what can you do...

However, if you manage to get Pikachu to pick up one of the ingredients Bulbasaur asked for, you should tell it to call Magnemite.

Magnemite will act as a messenger and take anything you deem fit for Bulbasaur's curry over to the Grass Pokémon's cave.

Getting Pikachu to actually find all the ingredients can be tricky as the yellow mouse has a mind of its own. In the above shot, Pikachu is actually sitting on the very herb I wanted it to pick up. Gaaaa! Just move your butt! The only thing that works is to move away and call it, then swing behind it and tell it turn around. But even then, success is not guaranteed. Frustrating.

But if you're lucky, you eventually get everything together and see Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Charmander enjoying their dinner together. What happens if you screw up and you missed some ingredients (or got the wrong ones)? Check out this movie for the answer. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the movie.

Whatever the outcome, Pikachu will follow you home to your house and wish you good night. Then you will be taken to a ratings screen that awards you with "friendship points" according to what transpired today. The better you and Pikachu worked together on your veggie hunt, the more friendship points you get.

And that's really it for this week.

If that wasn't enough Pokémon info for you today, check out our Pok¿dex entries for all the Pokémon that appeared in today's "Hey You Pikachu!" Episode. The entries are located on IGNguides, so you'll have to be a registered IGN user to access them (registration is free and only takes a few seconds, so go for it):